


What Lies In Wait

by Requiem



Category: Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Assassination Attempt(s), Established Relationship, Felix Alexius Lives, M/M, Politics, Post-Dragon Age: Inquisition - Trespasser DLC
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-01
Updated: 2020-08-01
Packaged: 2021-03-04 18:27:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,486
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25220893
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Requiem/pseuds/Requiem
Summary: Dorian returns to Minrathous after the Exalted Council to find that Felix has been busy in his absence.
Relationships: Felix Alexius/Dorian Pavus
Comments: 4
Kudos: 8
Collections: Rare Male Slash Exchange 2020





	What Lies In Wait

**Author's Note:**

  * For [greygerbil](https://archiveofourown.org/users/greygerbil/gifts).



Loathe as Dorian was to leave behind the Inquisition and the friends he'd made there, something equally as important was calling him back to Minrathous, and it wasn't his father's seat in the Magisterium, although that was something he would have to deal with upon his return.

He and Felix had been communicating via sending crystal over the last few weeks, but it just wasn't the same as being there in person. Though Felix had been pulled from the brink of death by the Hero of Ferelden's timely arrival in Skyhold with an experimental cure for blight sickness, the long journey back to Minrathous had nearly undone all of the warden-commander's work. So Felix had stayed behind this time, and Dorian had gone where he'd been needed.

But the Inquisition needed him no longer, scattered to the wind and working from the shadows. Minrathous was where he could do the most good now.

While his father had been alive, he'd stayed with Felix at the Alexius estate, and no one had batted an eyelash. Then again, he'd previously lived there for a number of years while apprenticing under Gereon, and with no other family to be with Felix while his father was being 'detained' by the Inquisition, Dorian's presence there wasn't newsworthy enough to make the gossip rounds for more than a few days.

Of course, the social circles that cared about such things also expected Felix to be on his deathbed any day now, and news that he was actually recovering _would_ be worthy of more than just cursory discussion. They'd been able to keep things quiet thus far since Felix still wasn't well enough to leave the estate, but if Dorian couldn't be there with him…well, change was coming. In more ways than one.

-

Night had long fallen by the time Dorian's carriage reached the Alexius estate. A less stubborn man might have listened to the carriage driver when she'd suggested they stop at dusk, but it had been a long journey from Halamshiral, and Dorian had been eager to be back by Felix's side as soon as possible.

Despite the hour, a servant arrived promptly to greet him at the door and bring his luggage up after him. The house was dark, lit only by light from the half-moon coming in through the tall windows, but Dorian didn't need to conjure up a light; he could walk these corridors in his sleep, especially the ones that took him to Felix's bedroom.

He was outside with one hand on the door handle when he heard a grunt of exertion from inside, then the sound of flesh meeting flesh, with considerable vigour, too. Before the dark thoughts in Dorian's mind could fully take form, he steeled himself and wrenched the door open.

A body fell at his feet, either dead or unconscious, a knife rolling out of its hand. Not far away stood Felix, breathless and only half dressed, the sweat beading on his forehead and torso glistening under the silvery moonlight. Dorian might have been more taken by the sight had Felix not been leaning heavily on his staff, having apparently just fought off an assassin.

"Dorian," Felix said mildly. "You're back."

"What _have_ you been up to while I was away?"

-

They retired to the adjoining sitting room while the servants cleaned up the mess in the bedroom. Felix gave them orders to find out who had commissioned the hit and to deliver the assassin to their doorstep escorted by guards in full House Alexius livery. In some ways, a more intimidating gesture than returning a corpse. Felix might have professed no aptitude for politics, but the upbringing of an altus often left them little choice.

"I know you sent Maevaris to check on me," Felix began, cuddled up against Dorian on one of the couches.

"I was worried about leaving you on your own, and apparently, I was right to be," Dorian said archly as he tightened his arms around Felix. "Who would have thought _you'd_ have enemies?"

"Let me finish," Felix chided. "Maevaris came over whenever she could, and we would talk. About the weather, the war, the Inquisition. The Magisterium. Who in the Magisterium supported the Inquisition."

" _That_ was a short conversation, I take it?"

"Not nearly as short as you'd think. The Inquisition itself might not have many supporters, but its goals…not everyone in the Magisterium wants to see the Imperium restored to its former glory."

"So I've been trying to tell our friends in the south, but since you, Maevaris, and I are the only three whose intentions I can be certain are pure, stacked up against the likes of Corypheus and the Venatori, it's all in all been a rather pitiable attempt."

"Well, I've another three names you can add to that list."

Dorian straightened up. "Mae hasn't been stirring things up in the Senate again, has she? It's too soon since the last time; she's going to annoy someone past the point of tipping. And when magisters get annoyed, they do things like send assassins after people who annoy them. Is that what's happened here?"

"No, nothing of the sort. I had a few guests for dinner while you were away."

"Guests?"

"The magister kind. I played up the whole dying thing to get them to come here: one last supper, a chance to speak their minds and say their farewells. It's amazing the kind of things people will tell someone they think won't live to see out the rest of the month. For example, whether the thought of forming a hypothetical group against corruption in the Imperium appeals to them."

"Felix!" Dorian said with delight. "You've been _naughty_." He'd meant what he'd said to the Inquisitor about reforming Tevinter, but even with all his resolve he hadn't known exactly how he was going to bring said reform about. With Mae and Felix having taken the first step of recruiting allies, the dream was beginning to look like a real possibility.

"I didn't want to risk saying anything even through the sending crystal, so I waited for you to get back. Maevaris has some ideas about where to take this next, but…I heard about your father. I know you haven't been close for a while, but I'm still sorry."

Dorian let out a long breath. Between the assassin and the discovery of the thrilling plans Mae and Felix had been hatching, he'd managed to forget all about that bit of business. "I expect everyone will want to talk about him in the coming days, so let's forego that while it's just you and me. But speaking of fathers, I expect yours will be returning soon. The Inquisition disbanded and no longer has authority over its prisoners. I convinced the Inquisitor to turn Gereon over to Tevinter instead of Orlais. Even if the Magisterium strips him of his title, there's still you, and you're not going anywhere any time soon, are you?" Dorian laid his head on Felix's shoulder, still too bony and pale, but warm, and most importantly, alive.

"No," Felix agreed, drawing Dorian closer. He let out a small sigh, and when Dorian looked up, his eyes were closed.

"With the three of us in the Senate, it'll be easier to keep an eye on things," Dorian murmured, mostly thinking out loud to himself. "We'll need a separate base of operations, of course. If we keep inviting the same group of magisters to our homes, people will start to talk."

"Not now, Dorian," Felix said with an exasperated groan. "I know you're excited, but you've only just returned; you must be tired. I know I am."

"Of course you are!" Dorian ran his hands over Felix, checking for any wounds he might have incurred during the fight, and cursing inwardly for not thinking of it sooner. "You should have been resting. What were you thinking, taking on that assassin by yourself? Where were the guards?"

"I had it under control."

"Call for them next time, won't you? I can't bear the thought of something happening to you."

"What about you? Taking off to the south where our people are feared and despised without so much as a bodyguard?"

"When you're all better, I'll let _you_ be my bodyguard, how about that?"

"Dorian," Felix grumbled, though he didn't stop Dorian from capturing his lips in a kiss.

They broke apart at a quiet knock on the door; one of the servants informing them that the bedroom had been put to rights.

"We'd best get in some sleep before night turns to day." Felix eased himself off the couch, accepting Dorian's arm when it was offered.

"Yes, we've a whole empire to topple in the morning." It'd be their biggest undertaking yet, but as with the Venatori, a little help would go a long way in making the odds not so insurmountable after all.


End file.
